US scientist charged with attempted spying for Israel

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"A top American scientist who once worked for the Pentagon and the US space agency NASA was arrested Monday and charged with attempted spying for Israel, the Department of Justice said.

Stewart David Nozette, 52, developed an experiment that fueled the discovery of water on the south pole of the moon, and previously held special security clearance at the Department of Energy on atomic materials, the DOJ said.

He is charged with "attempted espionage for knowingly and willfully attempting to communicate, deliver, and transmit classified information relating to the national defense of the United States to an individual that Nozette believed to be an Israeli intelligence officer," the DOJ said.

Nozette had been dealing with an FBI undercover agent in a sting operation, the department said, adding there was no wrongdoing by Israel."

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[Howardx]

1. "no wrongdoing by Israel."

they're allowed to spy on us.

[shaayecanaan]

3. No - Israel actually didn't attempt to recruit this person...

he was approached by an FBI officer pretending to be an Israeli spy and spilled his guts at the first opportunity.

The only real significance in the story is the extent to which the Americans are now investing in Israeli counter-intelligence.

[bemildred]

5. Yah, that's what I see, unless they have some prior reason, and it says nothing about that.

He seems to have been kind of gullible.

[shaayecanaan]

8. Indeed...

I thought this guy might have been a lesser-down paper pusher but apparently he had access to nuclear weapons designs, early warning systems, etc.

So I suppose this is perfectly appropriate counter-intelligence and exactly the kind of work that the FBI should be doing.

I also fully expect that if someone of Arab background was in a sensitive position that there would be similar attempts to see whether they might be recruited by an Arab government or terrorist group and that that would also be fair game.

In our modern pluralistic society it is seen as very gauche to someone of disloyalty because of their ethnic background, and justifiably so, but obviously counterintelligence is an arena in which even tenuous suspicions have to be acted on.

However, I think the wrong conclusion to draw from this is to say that only "non-ethnic" Americans should serve in the intelligence agencies. The British tried stocking their spy agencies exclusively with blue-blooded WASPs in the 50s and 60s and ended up riddled with Soviet double agents - it turns out that WASPs were actually more likely to be sympathetic to communism than immigrants who were generally reliably anti-communist, having had a taste of it themselves.

The other problem of course is that a spy agency without adequate numbers of people who can speak the languages and know the cultures of the countries that they are studying is worse than useless.

[proteus_lives]

9. No country allows another country to spy on them.

But the fact is that every country spies on every other country. Name a country without an intelligence service.

Just another case of holding Israel to a different standard. :eyes:

[shaayecanaan]

10. I doubt very much that Israel attempts to recruit American citizens any more...

I am very doubtful that they would be that stupid.

Generally the countries of the UKUSA intelligence alliance don't spy on each other. There are occasional exceptions, for instance there was a rumour last year that the Americans may have bugged offices belonging to Tony Blair.

It is also common for China to give informal assurances to countries that its intelligence agencies will not interfere in the domestic politics of certain countries, nor attempt to recruit people within those governments to supply intelligence.

However, there would be extreme consternation if the Americans were found to have actually recruited a high-level UK citizen to spy for them. Quite possibly this would lead to the downfall of the UKUSA intelligence community. For this reason there is an official ban on any UKUSA country recruiting a citizen of any other country.

My guess is that the Israelis would prefer to avoid another Jonathan Pollard incident, and therefore have refrained from attempting to recruit Americans, although this does not mean that the US should not be on the lookout anyway. The whole AIPAC incident seems to have been based on individuals trying to be helpful rather than Israel actually seeking to recruit.

Apparently, Jewish organisations in the US have also expressed their preference that Israel not attempt to recruit American Jews to spy for them, for the obvious reason that having Jewish spies pop up in the news does not create a particularly good look.

[bemildred]

2. I wonder what prompted them to set up this sting?

If it were not that apparently he was so enthusiastic in his seizure of the opportunity, I would not really approve of DOJ doing this sort of entrapment.

[Howardx]

4. i wholeheartedly approve

they have years of neglect to make up for.

[Scurrilous]

6. Additional info:

Maryland Man Arrested on Attempted Espionage Charge

<snip>

"Nozette worked at the Energy Department’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and did research at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in Arlington, Virginia, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, according to the Justice Department.

From November 1998 through January 2008, Nozette worked as a technical consultant for an aerospace company that was owned by the government of Israel. Once a month, Nozette answered questions posed by the company in return for payments totaling about $225,000 over that period, according to a criminal complaint. Dean Boyd, a Justice Department spokesman, declined to name the company."

<snip>

"In January, Nozette traveled to an unnamed country carrying two computer thumb drives that were found in his baggage by an airport security inspector, according to the criminal complaint. When he returned to the U.S., he was searched by a customs officer who couldn’t locate the drives, the complaint said.

On Sept. 3, he was contacted by telephone by an individual claiming to be an Israeli intelligence officer, according to the Justice Department. That person was an undercover FBI agent. Nozette met with the agent and indicated his willingness to work for Israeli intelligence, the statement said.

In another meeting, Nozette allegedly told the agent that even though he no longer had access to classified information at a government facility, he could recall classified information, according to the statement. Nozette allegedly asked when he would receive his first payment.

"I don’t get recruited by Mossad every day," Nozette allegedly told the FBI agent, referring to the Israeli intelligence agency, according to the criminal complaint. "I knew this day would come."

Asked why, he said: "I just had a feeling," according to the complaint."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aIOQskKerl6Q

[bemildred]

7. Yep, sounds like a goober.

At least that clarifies why they were "interested" in him.

One does wonder about the unnamed country, the thumbs drives, etc. From his reaction is sounds like it would not be Israel.

[Howardx]

11. kick

not going to be ignored.

[shaayecanaan]

12. Bit more...

Foreignpolicy.com ran a piece on the guy:-

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/10/19/why_are_scientists_such_bad_spies

which references a Politico post that is interesting enough. Apparently several spies have been operating out of Israel Aerospace Industries. Nozette himself thought that the company was just a front and that the questions put to him were really being asked by the Israeli government. I should probably retract my earlier statement - maybe Israel actually is that stupid. You'd think that anything they found out wouldnt be worth testing the American relationship for...

http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/1009/Maryland_scientist_indicted_for_attempted_espionage_for_Israel.html

Also, an interesting blog piece where several of his work colleagues muse on the whole situation and speculate about his motives:-

http://www.transterrestrial.com/?p=22502

[Scurrilous]

13. U.S. extends remand of would-be spy for Israel

<snip>

"Stewart David Nozette, the former NASA scientist who was arrested this week for offering to pass along classified information to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer, appeared in court yesterday for the first time since being taken into custody.

Nozette waived his right to detention hearings at the U.S. district court in Washington, D.C. until October 29. His remand has been extended until then.

Israeli and American sources said on Tuesday that Nozette had business dealings with Israel Aerospace Industries. The scientist, who is credited with helping discover evidence of water on the moon, was arrested by federal authorities on Monday.

According to the Israeli and American sources, Nozette was hired as an outside consultant to the company. An IAI spokesperson refused to comment on the matter, beyond saying that it was examining the reports. IAI is Israel's largest exporter of defense and aerospace technology.

During the hearing yesterday, a State Prosecutor said the allegations would be viewed with utmost severity: "Nozette planned to betray the U.S. and was captured on surveillance trying to convey top secret information to the foreign governments. Due to the potential of causing grave damage to U.S. security, he most likely faces incarceration for the rest of his life."

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[shaayecanaan]

14. "he most likely faces incarceration for the rest of his life"

being the operative sentence.

This fellow doesn't strike me as the kind to suffer in silence. I think he will sing to the heavens if it means seeing daylight again. Should make things interesting anyway.

[shira]

15. Does the DoJ set up others by pretending to represent Russia, China, Iran, etc.?

[shaayecanaan]

16. No, they only do that for Jews...

usually with anyone else, the FBI simply asks them if they are a spy, and if they say no the FBI just get in their car and drive home. After all they're probably telling the truth.

Its the same with the honey traps they set up for pedophiles. You think Roman Polanski was just a coincidence? I hear she was 38 years old at the time and she'd already had sex with the rest of the cast of "Chinatown". Of course, you never hear about any of this in the main stream media.

[Scurrilous]

17. Remember Abscam?

"I don’t get recruited by Mossad every day," Nozette allegedly told the FBI agent, referring to the Israeli intelligence agency, according to the criminal complaint. "I knew this day would come."

"I thought I was working for you already. I mean that's what I always thought, (the foreign company) was just a front."

http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/1009/Maryland_scientist_indicted_for_attempted_espionage_for_Israel.html?showall

Also:

According to the complaint, Nozette also told a colleague sometime before the January trip that, if the government tried to "put him in jail" in an unrelated case involving his non-profit, Nozette would move to Israel or Country A and "tell them everything" he knew.

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/the-scientist-who-mistook-himself-for-a-spy/

So Nozette had threatened to move to Israel and "tell them everything," expected the Mossad to contact him, and thought the Israeli firm he was advising was a front for Israeli intelligence (and seemingly had no problem with this).

I think for this particular case, the FBI pretending to be the Mossad, as opposed to Russian, Chinese, or Iranian intelligence, was a no-brainer.

[shira]

18. just interested in other similar setups involving other states, that's all

[Scurrilous]

19. Espionage suspect had guilty plea in fraud

Records say scientist sought to avoid jail for overbilling NASA

<snip>

"Stewart D. Nozette, the Chevy Chase scientist accused last week of attempted espionage, pleaded guilty in January to overbilling NASA and the Defense Department more than $265,000 for contracting work, according to court records unsealed Friday.

Nozette, 52, was arrested last week by federal authorities and accused of selling sensitive government secrets for $11,000 to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence operative. He faces a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted of attempted espionage.

It is not the first time Nozette has faced legal jeopardy. In 2006, the NASA inspector general began investigating allegations that Nozette's nonprofit firm, the Alliance for Competitive Technology, was overbilling the space agency. Nozette was the founder, president and treasurer of the firm, which he ran from his Chevy Chase house.

According to the unsealed court documents, Nozette was charged with defrauding the government and tax evasion and pleaded guilty in January to overbilling the government $265,205 for work he and an employee did for NASA and the Defense Department between 2000 and 2006. Nozette admitted that he used that money to help pay personal credit card bills, car loans and maintenance costs for his swimming pool. He faced at least two years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, according to the plea papers.

The documents were sealed because Nozette was cooperating with authorities in unrelated investigations of government corruption, court records show.

Last year or early this year, Nozette told a colleague that he would flee to India or Israel if the government tried to put him in jail in the fraud case, according to law enforcement officials. He told the colleague that he would share "everything" he knew with Israeli and Indian officials, the authorities said.

The colleague tipped off federal investigators, who were concerned because Nozette had ties to an Israeli aerospace firm and was working on a lunar project being run by the Indian government. Authorities soon launched a sting operation. By September, the FBI agent was meeting with Nozette and exchanging cash for information through a U.S. post office box in the District, federal officials have alleged."

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